Thioesters are important flavouring compounds for, amongst other things, cheese, vegetable, meat and coffee products. Particularly useful thioesters include, but are not limited to, methyl butanethioate, (hereinafter “MTB”), methyl thioacetate (hereinafter “MTA”) and methyl thiopropionate (hereinafter “MTP”).
Thioesters can be made synthetically. However, because of food trends, and health and wellness concerns, there is particular demand for flavour compounds, such as thioesters, that are either obtained directly from natural products, or produced via biological processes. A particular advantage of such compounds is that they may be termed “natural” and potentially labeled as such on consumable products.
It is known that various bacteria produce thioesters during fermentation. However, the yields and product ratios of these existing processes are difficult to influence.
Accordingly, it would be beneficial to develop a more predictable and potentially more economically viable method of producing thioesters that could be used in consumable products and labeled as “natural”.